“I thought—” Silay tried to gathered her thoughts, but what came out wasn’t what she had intended. “I thought you hated me.”

“Hate you, child? No. I don’t hate you.” The Seer stood up and pulled out a chair. Silay sat down. “Now, fear you, that’s another matter.” She sat down across from the girl and looked her in the eyes. “You absolutely terrify me. You shouldn’t be.”

“They why did you hope I’d come?”

The Seer raised her eyebrows. “Why did you come? Not to ask for another fortune telling, I think.”

“No. I…I thought—”

“You seem to do a lot of that.”

Silay jerked her eyes up from the floor, ready to be offended, but the Seer just smiled. “What did you think, child?”

“That maybe I could help.” Suddenly all the thoughts that had been running through her mind since she had overheard the conversation came rushing out. “You said there was a plague coming. That you could see it everyone’s future. That you didn’t see any way for it to be stopped. But—”

The Seer leaned forward in her chair. “Yes? But?”

“But you can’t see me. You can’t see my future. Which means maybe there isn’t a plague in my future, or maybe I’m the one who stops the plague.”

“Hmmm.” The Seer leaned back again. “You know, fortune telling is not an exact art. But there are some events so big, so likely, that no alternatives to them are seen. And those of us who see the future call such events Unchangeables. Whatever else happens around them, whatever choices are made, they are not strong enough to overcome an Unchangeable. Not even a Hero can do that. And you are no Hero, child. I would have seen if you were.”

“What am I then?”

“There’s the question. All magic, even fortune telling, revolves around knowing what things are. But you are an anomaly. Magic doesn’t seem to be able to recognize you.”

Silay stood up and shoved her chair back in frustration. “Then why did you hope I would come? Why did you speak to me when I was outside? If no one can do anything, then what’s the point? What’s the point of you?”

“I ask myself that question nearly everyday. Why bother looking at the future if so little of it can be changed?” She looked up at Silay. “Sit, child. I didn’t say it was hopeless. I just wanted you to understand.”

Silay remained standing. “So you think something can be done.”

“I hope something can be done. Nothing quite so substantial as thinking. No Unchangeable has ever been stopped, it’s true. But then, no person has ever been without a destiny either. And so, I hope.”

“What then? What do you think I can do?”

“Sit down and I’ll explain.”

_________

Note: I've always liked reading author's notes about their stories, so I'm going to go ahead and write notes on some of my posts. If they bother you, no worries. Just don't read them :).

Anyway, like I said last week, there's going to be another long section of dialogue next week. This is actually a little unusual for me when writing, and I think the difference is that I usually start stories in medias res and leave it to the reader to catch up. This story, however, began pretty much at the beginning, so I feel obligated to lay all my cards on the table before I start shuffling them around.